So a few weeks ago, I turned my lights on and all of the interior lights came on except for the lights associated with the heater center stack (clock, heater nob, heater buttons). So I thought, that weird. Being a guy, what else to you do when something is broken and hit it with your hand? I hit the side of the center stack and the lights came on. After about 10 seconds, the lights turned back off. So I hit the heater console again and they turned back on and remained on. But now, every time I start the car and turn the lights on, the heater console does not turn on but everything else does. So I just hit the side of the console and they turn on.

I decided I would take the car into my Scion dealer to have them look at it. I've been pretty happy with them so I thought they could help me out. I explained my situation and they said they would look for a short but it would probably take a while. So after about 20 minutes of waiting, the service mechanic came by and said I needed a new heating console unit and that it would run me about $800 out the door. So I told him I could live with it. But I thought it was going to take a while? Frankly, I think he didn't want to take the time to look at it and just wanted me to fork out some $.

But here is my question. Why wouldn't my extended warranty cover something like this? (I'm sitting at 37000 miles). Its obviously a mechanical malfunction that should be happening. That's what warranties are for, right? I suppose I should look at the gritty details in my warranty but the fact that it doesn't cover this, why the hell did I buy the warranty in the first place?

Anyway, any insight or recommendations would be helpful. Thanks!

pull it apart and check the connection on the back. it may have gotten lose. when the lights are off, does everything else still work?

sounds like they wanted your money for a quick fix.

what year is your car?

from his sig:
2007 Scion tC Super White

Yeah, its a 2007. And yes, when the lights are off, the clock back light works. But when the lights are turned on, none of the lights turn on, including the clock back light, which turns off. But then I hit it, and all the heater console lights come on.

what about the actual functions of the buttons? do they work. ac, fan control, defrost, hazard lights?

All of the buttons work, like to control the heating/ac. Only the lights don't work.

This is a common problem with the 07's. There wasn't a TSB or recall or anything about it though... most dealerships were just told to replace the consoles free of charge. My advice, go to a different dealership and try to convince them to fix it under warranty... or just tell them that it broke at 35,999 miles and you went over warranty trying to get to the dealer...

The problem is with the whole HVAC unit. You need to replace it with either a new 07 or an 08+ unit. You might be able to do it with an 05-06 but I've never heard it being done before. Try going to a nearby junkyard and look for an 08+ tC and rip out the heater controls. It'll be much less expensive than what the dealer's trying to charge you.

05-06 wont work in the 07+ . They changed the circuit layout on the board in 07.. which is when the issue started. They seemed to have fixed it later in 07. I know from what I have looked at that the dimmer control circuit is the culprit, but I havent had one that had the issue along with the car that I could test to be sure.

My guess is that your extended warranty is a powertrain warranty, which will not cover anything like that. But this is a common issue with a lot of the 07's. As mentioned, see if any other dealers near you know about it and will take care of it for free. As for $800, the last I checked, the HVAC unit new is about $500. I can swap one out in less than 5 minutes (I can remove the gauges, HVAC, stereo, steering wheel audio buttons and door controls in about 15).. these are VERY easy to change. I would question the makeup of that $800 charge if you end up having to pay for it. If they are charging you $300 labor.. they are on crack.

If you do end up having to fix it yourself, find an 08 HVAC module from car-part.com (online listing from tons of salvage yards) for $100 or less and call it a day.

^^ all points made.

it should be replaced free of charge. you can tell that service mechanic to shove it.

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=157591